Saturday, May 30th, 2015 at 7:01am

A Japanese ramen restaurant is scheduled to open later this year in the old Mint Tulip spot across the street from UNM. (Roberto E. Rosales/Journal)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It seems there’s something of a ramen row brewing across the street from University of New Mexico.

The family behind Santa Fe’s 40-year-old Shohko Café — which lays claim to having “New Mexico’s first sushi bar” — is expanding into Albuquerque with a new Japanese restaurant called Naruto. It will specialize in ramen but also serve some sushi, bento meals and Japanese-style tapas.

Naruto is going in at 2110 Central SE, a spot empty since the 2014 closure of Mint Tulip Vegan Cafe.

That means it’s just a couple doors down from the existing O Ramen restaurant, which opened about a year ago.

“Don’t worry,” Hiro Fukuda, who is opening Naruto with wife Shohko, said of the proximity to another ramen shop. “There are different ways to make (it).”